The transfer portal era has scattered Dawn Staley’s former players across the country, and the results — now fully visible after the 2025-26 season — are as varied as the journeys themselves. From career-best performances to another school change, here is the most complete and up-to-date look at where each former Gamecock stands right now.
Sakima Walker — California Golden Bears (ACC)
2025-26 Final Stats: 36 GP (36 GS) | 12.5 PPG | 6.9 RPG | 56.7 FG% | Third in ACC in field goal percentage
When Sakima Walker left South Carolina after two seasons of limited playing time — averaging just 1.4 points and 0.7 rebounds per game in 15 appearances during the national runner-up season — the move to California felt like a long shot. What unfolded instead was one of the more remarkable single-season transformations in recent women’s college basketball.
Walker was the only player on Cal’s roster to appear and start all 36 games, logging 969 minutes at an average of 26.9 minutes per game. She finished second on the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game, led the team in rebounding at 6.9 per game, and ranked second in the ACC in field goal percentage at 56.7%. She had career highs of 28 points and 16 rebounds against Kansas State in the WBIT, becoming one of just 15 players in the country with a game featuring at least 28 points and 15 rebounds. She also blocked a career-high six shots in a game against Missouri and finished with eight double-doubles — the most on the team and eighth in the ACC. Ballislife
Walker’s late-career explosion is a testament to what competitive development inside a championship program can do — even when the immediate role is minimal. She soaked in the culture, stayed patient, and then unleashed a graduate season that announced her as one of the best bigs in the ACC. She averaged 20.8 points over her final four games of the season, closing her college career on an extraordinary run. Channel 93.3
Verdict: The Biggest Success Story of the Group. Walker’s journey from background piece at South Carolina to dominant force at Cal is one of the most rewarding outcomes a former Gamecock transfer has produced.
MiLaysia Fulwiley — LSU Tigers (SEC)
2025-26 Final Stats: 35 GP | 14.6 PPG | 3.6 RPG | 3.5 APG | 2.8 SPG | 47.4 FG% | AP Honorable Mention All-American
No transfer generated more controversy or curiosity than MiLaysia Fulwiley’s move from Columbia to Baton Rouge. The narrative was loaded with SEC rivalry subtext — a Dawn Staley-molded spark plug walking into Kim Mulkey’s locker room and committing to a heated rival. The basketball question, though, was legitimate: could Fulwiley become more than an electric bench weapon?
The answer, emphatically, was yes.
Fulwiley’s averages increased across the board in her first season at LSU, finishing with 14.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals per contest as LSU’s leading scorer with 511 total points. She had 27 games scoring in double figures, including 10 outings of 20-plus points and 18 of 15-plus. She finished the season with 99 steals — third all-time at LSU for steals in a single season — and tallied 3-plus steals in 17 games. Sportsearchers
She was named SEC Sixth Woman of the Year for the second consecutive season ESPN , earned AP Honorable Mention All-American honors, and was named to the SEC All-Tournament team. She secured a career high of 28 points against Duke in the Sweet 16, helping LSU to a fourth straight Sweet 16 appearance. Sportsearchers
Fulwiley was also candid about why she made the move. “I still wanted to be in the SEC. I still wanted to play for a great coach, so that’s when I landed here,” Fulwiley said. “I felt like LSU is a great program. They kind of play my style. I felt like I could probably be myself here, and that’s what I did.” Sports-Reference.com
Dawn Staley, for her part, handled it with characteristic grace. “I think being in this space, you come to expect the unexpected,” Staley said. “I still have much love for MiLaysia, much love. I want her happy.” Sports-Reference.com
Verdict: Fulwiley delivered on the hype and then some. The questions about whether her numbers at LSU would hold up against elite competition were answered definitively in March, when she dropped 28 on Duke in the Sweet 16. She is a legitimate star.
Talaysia Cooper — Tennessee → Now Ole Miss (SEC)
2025-26 Final Stats: 29 GP (25 GS) | 16.0 PPG | 4.7 RPG | 3.6 APG | 2.7 SPG | 42.9 FG% | All-SEC Second Team
Talaysia Cooper’s arc since leaving South Carolina remains one of the most fascinating in women’s college basketball. A former McDonald’s All-American from Turbeville, South Carolina, Cooper never got a real opportunity at her home-state school — averaging just 2.9 points per game in a reserve role during her freshman season. Her decision to transfer to Tennessee outside the normal portal window cost her an entire redshirt year. When she finally took the court for the Lady Vols in 2024-25, she became Tennessee’s leading scorer. And in 2025-26, she did it again.
Cooper was Tennessee’s leading scorer and assister in 2025-26, posting 16.0 points and 3.6 assists per game on 42.9% shooting from the field and 34.3% from three-point range. She also contributed 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 steals per contest. Ballislife
But the season ended on a sour note. In the SEC Tournament loss to Alabama, she was benched by Kim Caldwell for the majority of the second half. Caldwell cited it as a coach’s decision but did not expand on the exact reason. Ballislife Tennessee finished 16-14 and 8-8 in the SEC and was eliminated by NC State in the NCAA Tournament first round. ESPN
After the season, Cooper entered the transfer portal and landed at Ole Miss. ESPN ranked her the fifth-best available player in the portal, noting her ability to defend all over the floor and her significant SEC experience with both South Carolina and Tennessee, projecting her as a foundational piece of the Rebels’ rebuild. Wikipedia “Fresh Start. Strong Finish,” she wrote announcing her commitment. Sports-Reference.com
Verdict: Cooper remains one of the most productive players to come through Dawn Staley’s program, even without Staley ever fully deploying her. Now heading to Ole Miss for her final season, she has one more chance to cap her career as a full-blown SEC star.
Sahnya Jah — SMU → Now Cincinnati (Big 12)
2024-25 Final Stats at SMU: 9.1 PPG | 4.7 RPG | 21 MPG | 12 Starts
Sahnya Jah’s story has been covered extensively in this space, and the update is now official: after her junior season at SMU — her third school in three years — Jah has committed to Cincinnati for 2026-27. It will be her fourth program in four seasons.
At SMU, Jah posted career highs across the board under coach Adia Barnes. The numbers were encouraging. The team’s 8-23 record, however, provided little context for evaluating how those numbers would translate to a stronger competitive environment.
Cincinnati finished 11-20 and 6-12 in the Big 12 last season and hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2002. For Jah, the move represents an opportunity to close her career as the unambiguous focal point of an offense — but also carries the risk of another season measured primarily by individual numbers in a losing environment.
The talent has never been the question with Jah. Off-court issues derailed her at South Carolina and shadowed her at Arizona. The SMU season looked like growth. Cincinnati will reveal whether it was truly a turning point — or simply a product of expanded opportunity.
Verdict: Still a Story Being Written. Jah’s individual upward trajectory is real. Whether the recurring disruptions are fully behind her will define how this chapter is ultimately remembered.
The Bigger Takeaway
What this updated tracker reveals, more than anything, is the complex ripple effect of playing for a program like South Carolina. The developmental foundation Staley provides is real — even players who never cracked the rotation there have leveraged the experience into meaningful careers elsewhere. Walker is the clearest example: virtually invisible in Columbia, she became a double-double machine and one of Cal’s most indispensable players the moment she stepped into a featured role.
Fulwiley proved the jump from spark plug to star was always inside her. Cooper has shown she can be a consistent 16-point scorer in the SEC across multiple programs. And even Jah, the most turbulent of the group, is still actively writing her story.
The through-line across all four? The South Carolina experience shaped them — for better, for worse, and sometimes both.
